Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has secured a prosecution against Uisce Éireann, formerly known as Irish Water, for pollution of the Ballinagh River in Co. Cavan last year in which 160 fish died.
A fine of €4,000, plus costs and expenses of €3,079, was imposed on Uisce Éireann at a hearing on the matter at Cavan District Court on October 6, 2023.
The conviction was secured under Section 171 of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 – legislation regarding protection of fishing waters from harmful pollutants.
Uisce Éireann
The court was told that IFI personnel were alerted to the fish kill on the Ballinagh River on July 19, 2022.
As part of an investigation, water samples were taken from the river for analysis by IFI senior environmental officer, Ailish Keane.
The results indicated the pollution source was direct discharge from an effluent pipe at Uisce Éireann’s wastewater treatment plant at Ballinagh.
The samples had levels of ammonia that were 32 times greater than expected in good salmon or trout waters.
This was the third prosecution against Uisce Éireann at this plant in Ballinagh since 2015.
Dr. Milton Matthews, director of IFI’s northwestern river basin district said that it was predominantly brown trout that perished in this incident, along with some stickleback and minnow.
“High levels of ammonia in a watercourse are toxic for fish. Fish kill events such as these are extreme ecological events.
“They can have a severe and prolonged impact on native fish stocks due to the loss of locally- adapted, genetically-distinct, fish populations, which may take many years to recover,” he said.
“We welcome further engagement with Uisce Éireann. This will ensure that regular visual inspections of wastewater facilities and discharge points, are conducted to minimise the risk of such pollution events reoccurring.
“This is especially important at times of high temperatures and low water flow,” Dr. Matthews added.
Members of the public are encouraged to report instances of water pollution, illegal fishing or fish kills to Inland Fisheries Ireland’s confidential number, 0818 34 74 24.